Dear editor:

Re: Yvonne Bredow's story, “Racist attitudes a common occurrence,” (The Lake Report, April 16):

I'm a minority, of sorts, in that I'm from a foreign country (America) that is often denigrated in front of me. However, I don't stay silent or slink away; I give as good as I get (with a smile on my face).

Standing up for yourself or a belief, isn't mean-spirited. You'll feel better about yourself and help educate others to sensitive feelings they thoughtlessly don't comprehend. 

As for coming to NOTL with the preconceived notion that everyone here is a perfect person, well, that seems like a somewhat naive assumption that I'm sure you regret. There aren't any perfect places or perfect residents. Tolerance is a learned characteristic of humans, not innate; try to think of yourself as a teacher in this regard, not exclusively a victim.

If I lost a job (which has happened), the first thing I would want to know is why, and not decide the reason for myself. There are many unrelated reasons why this happens.

At Niagara College, arguably a very tolerant and progressive school, people are fired in a more subtle way. If they want to get rid of, say, an assistant director, they eliminate the job title – then no more job exists for an assistant director and the person will leave with no recourse. 

I will say I'm sorry for the emotional distress these events can cause. Hopefully you won't obsess about it or it might make you a bitter person.

Try to get over it and focus on the people who consider you their friend. Hopefully we will meet some time and become friends.

Dr. Wade Taylor Davis

NOTL